Running In Real Time: Twitter on Bringing Campaigns to Life at SES London 2014

"Getting the right message to the right people at the right time can strongly augment your message."

That was the opening message from Bruce Daisley, UK Managing Director for Twitter. Citing Oreo's success story from last year's Super Bowl and Oreo's single tweet this year, Daisley says capturing a moment can be incredibly powerful. Finding the right moment doesn't have to be something you need to be intimidated by. You can even plan for it.

Daisley offered some impressive Twitter user statistics from UK:

80 percent use Twitter on a mobile device

70 percent use Twitter out and about (not at home)

25 percent purchased something directly as a result of a tweet.

More than 50 percent say Twitter gives them the latest news, faster than other sources.

This means, said Daisley, "if an alien ever lands on earth, over half the Twitter user base says they'll see it on Twitter before hearing about it elsewhere." This makes Twitter content a platform for live content discovery, which is effective not only for relaying news, but also for brands to get out their messages.

Twitter increases the effectiveness of TV advertising. When added to TV ads, the net result was a 36 percent lower CPA when those TV advertisements were run concurrent with Twitter paid media. Which explains the extremely high percentage of Super Bowl ads that contained hashtags.

Other events are areas of high opportunity for brands to get their message out on Twitter, too. For example the Grammys saw over 15.2 million tweets on the hashtag #grammys, with #pharrellshat being the show stealer.

Daisley shows how the large hat Pharrell wore was another unplanned opportunity. This time Arby's won the day.

Comparing the size of Pharrell's hat to their logo, Arby's tweeted out asking him for their hat back. Pharrell replied asking if they were trying to "start some (roast] beef." Having a celebrity touching your brand is like gold. This was a huge win for Arby's.

Twitter Moments of Opportunity

There are several moments of opportunity on Twitter, both planned and unplanned. Arby's and Oreo are examples of unplanned moments.

Unpredictable moments are always good moments to take advantage of. Sometimes they are live, as with the Grammy's and Pharrell's hat tweets. Sometimes they can just after a news story breaks.

Staying relevant to pop culture and news stories is key. From the Royal Baby to sporting events, pop culture and news dominated Twitter moments in 2013 and that trend continues to grow with the first two big events in 2014.

The upcoming World Cup in Brazil is a potential planned moment, as are the Sochi Olympics. Of course for events this large, there will be unplanned moments. Having your team in place and at the ready is key to capturing such a moment.

However, as marketers, you can still plan for opportunities to reach people during the breaks in action. Much the same way sports teams purchase "champions" hats before a big match, so they can wear them as soon as they win, your can plan your message for likely outcomes and be ready as those outcomes happen. Granted sometimes your plan may not come to fruition because of an outcome. But plan for it, regardless.

There are also moments that happen "everyday." Showing Twitter search statistics for the term [run], Daisley showed how Nike takes advantage of that data.

People are most often discussing and searching for tweets related to running In the beginning of the week (Monday and Tuesday, especially). Nike sends tweets more often during those moments.

By taking advantage of the times during the week where related terms are more commonly used and searched for, Nike is insuring their message has a better chance of being noticed.

Weather and sunshine are two more terms that are great examples "everyday moments." Plan for these everyday moments when timing your messages for your social media campaigns.

Twitter is Still Good for Brands

Daisley finished with more statistics showing that Twitter is working for brands:

94 percent of tweeters shop on their mobile phones.

Twitter users engage. Specifically:

70 percent of them research on Twitter.

17 percent use store locators.

7 percent actually purchase.

56 percent of Twitter mobile users say they are influenced by content on Twitter when buying.

37 percent use Twitter before and/or after shopping on mobile.

1 in 3 users say that Twitter has a direct influence on their purchase decision.

How can brands take advantage? Since last year when Oreo won the Super Bowl, Twitter has changed a lot.

The classic Twitter experience is 140 characters, but with Twitter cards, you can subscribe to mailing lists, view videos or product information, and so much more. Through lead generation cards and other innovations, Twitter is removing friction where possible.

By helping people through the funnel faster with less touch points, marketers have less chance of leakage out of the funnel through each step. Using Twitter Cards, marketers have one-click calls-to-action for users to join a mailing list or represent their product.

The bottom line: real-time marketing isn't about being the most witty. It's about being the smartest by planning for your moments.

About the author

Thom is a seasoned techincal SEO and digital analytics veteran. His current role as VP of Development and IT at Internet Marketing Ninjas includes the improvement of internal processes, leading the creation and refinement of industry-leading tools across multiple brands.

Previously he was a premier independent consultant, held a a senior search position at nationally renown TopRank Online Marketing and led all digital web-related technology's at Rochester Institute of Technology's Saunders College of Business. He also led analytics strategy efforts for the university's mobile initiative.

Part of the ClickZ Academy faculty, Thom has also taught for several well-respected colleges and universities. He is a regular speaker at ClickZ Live events and is a veteran of TEDx as well.